The use of DNA in tackling crime and promoting equality

Report: 10
Date: 16 November 2006
By: Assistant Commissioner Specialist Crime Directorate on behalf of the Commissioner

Summary

This report gives information relating to the use of DNA. It includes how samples are taken and used, seeking to dispel myths surrounding DNA. It also looks at equality monitoring to ensure there is no disparity in sampling.

A. Recommendations

That

1. Members to note the attached report

B. Supporting information

Introduction

1. DNA profiling was first used in evidence in criminal investigations in 1987. The DNA profiling technique relies on the ability to recover small amounts of DNA and to extract and analyse sections of DNA that vary from one individual to another. The main DNA technique currently used by the police service is referred to as “SGM plus”; this examines ten sites on the DNA molecule plus a marker to determine sex. Unlike medical or other applications this technique examines non-coding DNA and is aimed at identification and not for deriving information such as susceptibility to illness or genetic disorders.

2. As the use of DNA profiling increased a National DNA Database (NDNAD) was established in 1995. The NDNAD is made up of DNA samples taken from individuals detained by the police as a result of arrest for a recordable offence, samples from crime scenes and samples taken from volunteers who have requested that their sample is retained on the NDNAD.

Employment

3. With the establishment of the NDNAD a Custodian function was set up to set standards and ensure the effective operation of the NDNAD. This function is now within the Home Office following the FSS move to a Government Owned Company in December 2005. The oversight and operation of the NDNAD is the responsibility of the National DNA Database Board, which has members from the Association of Chief Police Officers, the Home Office and the Association of Police Authorities. The Board is advised and supported by the Custodian and by lay advisors such as the Human Genetics Commission. An Ethics Review Panel is to be set up reporting to the NDNAD Board. The governance and operation of the NDNAD formed part of the Review led by Robert McFarland into the future status of the Forensic Science Service.

4. DNA has become increasingly used in the fight against crime. The NDNAD currently holds almost 3.5 million profiles from persons and over 250,000 profiles from unsolved crimes. Approximately 20% of these profiles originate from the MPS. When a profile is added to the NDNAD it is compared against the other profiles and if a match is made between a person and a crime the relevant police force is notified. The MPS receives approximately 7,000 match notifications per year.

5. DNA samples are taken from all persons arrested for a recordable offence unless the person already has a profile on the NDNAD. Legislation allows for the retention of DNA samples irrespective of the case result although an ACPO Officer can authorise the deletion of a profile in exceptional cases. The policy in respect of deletion is published on the ACPO Internet site. The retention of DNA profiles has been challenged in respect of the Human Rights Act and a ruling made in the House of Lords concluded that the retention of profiles does not contravene articles 8 (right to respect for private and family life) or 14 (prohibition of discrimination).

6. Police and Designated Detention Officers are trained in the taking of samples during their initial training. This includes informing the person of their rights and the use of the sample, the physical sampling and completion of the information form that accompanies the DNA sample.

7. The usual method of DNA sampling is to take a non-intimate sample, i.e. a mouth swab, although a hair sample may be taken. Written consent to the taking of a sample is a requirement although a non-intimate sample may be taken from a detained person without their consent if certain conditions as set out in the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 (PACE) are satisfied. In these circumstances reasonable force may be used if necessary.

8. Details of the person giving the sample are recorded on the DNA form which accompanies the sample. This form is completed by the sampling officer and contains among other details three of the six strands of equality, ethnicity, gender and age. It should be noted that for a period of three years (2001 – 2004) ethnicity was not recorded on the DNA form. At present there is no provision for recording disability, religion/belief or sexual orientation on either the current custody information system or on the DNA form. The MPS is introducing a national custody information system which has no facility for recording these three equality strands and there is no proposal for it to do so. A separate record could be kept for these strands but, as they are not descriptive factors, it is not known if this information would be given by the persons concerned. In addition, it may be felt appropriate to record information of this nature in a non-attributable form. Bearing these constraints in mind such information gathering may not produce reliable data for comparison purposes.

9. Ethnicity is recorded using the 6+1 system in the same way as the Police National Computer (PNC) and refers to the ethnic appearance of the individual as assessed by the officer taking the sample. Research within the MPS for the period of 1 January 2003 to 30 June 2006, of 1,037,549 arrests 43.89% were officer defined as non-white compared to 45.20% self defined. It can therefore be seen that the variation between officer defined and self defined is small. Ethnicity recording is currently the subject of discussion at a national level.

10. In the MPS the Directorate of Forensic Services has established a DNA Services Unit, which is a ‘clearing house’ for all custody DNA samples, crime scene samples and receipt of match reports from the Custodian. The Unit not only ensures the efficient use of DNA profiling in the MPS but also provides an important oversight of the use of DNA. No equality monitoring has been carried out as a matter of routine but recent improvements to the DNA Unit information systems allowed for monitoring of some equality factors. Data for the six months from April to September 2006 shows that sampling rates closely reflect arrest rates for the different groups based on ethnicity, gender and age.

11. Data relating to April to September 2006 follows, showing the comparison between persons arrested and samples taken. It should be noted that the arrest figures relate to all arrests, not exclusively arrests for recordable offences. It is not possible to separate data relating to those persons who should have been sampled from the numbers shown below. This is due to the fact that an unknown proportion of the arrestees already have samples on the NDNAD and therefore do not require sampling.

Age data

• The 10-17 age range accounted for 18.02% of arrests and 15.89% of samples.
• The 18-24 age range accounted for 26.92% of arrests and 26.89% of samples.
• The 25-44 age range accounted for 45.04% of arrests and 46.0% of samples.
• The 45-64 age range accounted for 8.96% of arrests and 10.36% of samples.
• Over 65s accounted for 0.57% of arrests and 0.77% of samples. Persons with an unknown age accounted for 0.49% of arrests and 0.08% of samples.

Gender data

• Males accounted for 85.56% of arrests and 83.35% of samples.
• Females accounted for 14.07% of arrests and 16.54% of samples.
• Persons of unknown gender accounted for 0.36% of arrests and 0.11% of samples

Ethnicity data

• White persons accounted for 53.71% of arrests and 31.74% of samples.
• Black persons accounted for 32.06% of arrests and 19.60% of samples.
• Asian persons accounted for 10.46% of arrests and 7.52% of samples.
• Other persons accounted for 3.64% of arrests and 6.07% of samples.
• Persons of unknown ethnicity accounted for 0.13% of arrests and 35.06% of samples. The high number of samples with unknown ethnicity is due to the optional status of this data field on the MPS recording systems. This will be changed to a compulsory field shortly to enable detailed monitoring.

12. The MPS sampling policy requires a sample to be taken in all cases where the law allows; hence variations in sampling rates between different groups are a direct consequence of a police operational activity. This means the duties outlined in s404 of the Greater London Authority Act 1999 are met by eliminating unlawful discrimination and promoting equality.

13. DNA samples are also taken from police officers upon appointment, as a requirement under Police Regulations as amended in April 2003. These are held on the Police Elimination Database (PED), which is a separate database and only used for checking against crime scene profiles where it is believed that inadvertent contamination has occurred. Certain police staff members (such as crime scene examiners) are also included in the PED on a voluntary basis. Due to the regulations controlling the PED it is not possible at present to search police samples against outstanding crime scene samples on a speculative basis. It is recognised that this is a failing and work is being carried out on a national level to extend the use of the PED. The MPS is also looking at methods of obtaining samples from officers prior to appointment with a view to having these samples searched speculatively.

Service delivery

14. Before the sample is taken, in addition to informing the person of their rights, they are also informed that the sample will be the subject of a speculative search.

15. The information held on the NDNAD is quality assured by its dynamic link with the PNC. If the details supplied to the NDNAD with the profile are at variance with the corresponding details held on PNC the sample cannot be loaded. However, some details including ethnicity are not compulsory fields and this can lead to some missing data, but this does not impede the matching process.
16. The profiling of DNA samples undertaken for the MPS is carried out by three forensic service providers. A provider has to be accredited by the NDNAD before they are able to load DNA profiles to the NDNAD. This ensures that not only is their work quality assured but also that the samples are only used for the purpose for which they are taken. The accreditation includes the use of a standardised methodology, proficiency tests and audit of laboratory facilities. Failure to comply with the accreditation requirements would result in the removal of the provider from NDNAD work but in the case of misuse could also lead to prosecution.

17. The use of DNA profiling in crime investigation has had a major impact on performance. Research has shown that in 2004/05 while the overall detection rate was 26%, in cases where DNA was retrieved the detection rate increases to 40%. From April to September 2006 the MPS was notified of 4,369 matches between persons and unsolved crimes. These included 89 murder matches, 137 rape matches and 305 robbery matches. Not all of these will result in detection, but it can be seen that many useful investigative links are made through the use of DNA profiling. Like other forensic techniques such as fingerprints the use of DNA profiling to eliminate an individual from a criminal investigation is equally important.

Community involvement

18. No specific research into the communities’ views has been carried out, nor has any feedback relating to DNA been received from any of the independent advisory groups. Opinions on the use of DNA vary greatly, ranging from those who want everybody to be on the NDNAD to those who have grave concerns regarding its use. Many concerns relate to the genetic use of DNA and the availability of the information for other purposes such as paternity investigations and civil litigation. The access to the samples taken under PACE has been tested in the courts with a clear ruling that the information on the NDNAD cannot be used for any purpose other than the prevention or detection of crime, the investigation of an offence, the conduct of a prosecution or the identification of a deceased person or body part. The relevant ruling is London Borough of Lambeth v S,C,V, and J (No 3) in the Family Division of the High Court.

19. Communities would be particularly involved in cases where an intelligence led screen is undertaken. The purpose of an intelligence led screen is to sample persons on a voluntary basis with a view to identifying an offender and eliminating other persons who may fit the description of the offender. The samples taken under these circumstances are taken on a voluntary basis and are only used to compare against the crime in question. The sample is destroyed at the conclusion of the enquiry. However, if the volunteer donor wishes, the profile may be added to the NDNAD provided informed consent is given. The MPS has undertaken 29 intelligence led screens which have eliminated 6,663 individuals from police enquires.

20. There is a perception that individuals from minority groups are more likely to be sampled, thereby leading to disproportionality on the NDNAD. It is not possible to research this in detail, as ethnicity was not recorded on samples for three years. In this time the MPS added approximately 200,000 samples, equating to approximately 1 million nationally. Current monitoring indicates that samples are taken in a proportional manner. The number of persons arrested in 2005–06 for notifiable offences was 187,808. In the same period the number of persons who were not proceeded with who have samples on the NDNAD was 23,994. The relative percentages are as follows:

Persons arrested for notifiable offences

• White 54.7%
• Non-white 44.9%

Samples entered onto the NDNAD but case not proceeded with

• White 42.93%
• Non-white 57.07%

This is non-MPS data and is the best available data for those arrested compared with those entered on the NDNAD with regard to ethnicity. However, these figures are not directly comparable as the arrest data relates to all persons arrested for notifiable offences whereas the sample data only relates to persons arrested and not proceeded with.

21. The MPS policy on DNA was written by the Directorate of Forensic Services and stakeholders were consulted including the Diversity and Citizen Focus Directorate. Work on diversity issues is being carried out within the MPS and the policy will require a full Equality Impact Assessment review with full consultation with our partners.

Performance

22. It is crucial that the information on the DNA form is correct and the DNA Unit checks it to ensure that the information held on the NDNAD is correct. Failure to do so will prevent the sample from being added to the NDNAD.

23. At present the MPS does not publish information in relation to the equality impact and community engagement in the use of DNA.

24. The MPS Modernisation Programme will not have any impact on DNA collection and analysis. As part of the programme work is being carried out on the quality of information. The intention is to reduce the amount of keyboard use when recording data by the increased use of electronic information transfer of information. It is not anticipated that any equality issues will arise from this work.

Abbreviations

ACPO

Association of Chief Police Officers

DNA

DeoxyriboNucleic Acid

SGM plus

DNA technique currently used by police

NDNAD

National DNA Database

FSS

Forensic Science Service

PACE

Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984

PED

Police Elimination Database

PNC

Police National Computer

C. Race and equality impact

1. Looking at the six equality strands:

• Ethnicity. Monitoring indicates that samples are taken proportionally. There are no indicated issues.
• Gender. Monitoring indicates that samples are taken proportionally. There are no indicated issues.
• Disability. There is a possibility of a lack of understanding when asked to give consent to a sample being taken. There is no monitoring on disability and it is not possible to currently measure impact.
• Sexual Orientation. There is no monitoring on sexual orientation and it is not possible to currently measure impact.
• Religion/belief. There may be a requirement in some cultures that samples should be taken by a person of the same sex. However, this is normal practice. There is no monitoring on religion/belief and it is not possible to currently measure impact.
• Age. Monitoring indicates that samples are taken proportionally. There are no indicated issues.

D. Financial implications

1. There are no significant financial implications in relation to this report. Current proposed work is being managed within budget allocations already provided to the Forensic Services Directorate.

E. Background papers

None

F. Contact details

Report author: Gary Pugh, Director of Forensic Services

For more information contact:

MPA general: 020 7202 0202
Media enquiries: 020 7202 0217/18

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